How to use Adobe Illustrator's Retype tool to find the perfect typeface for your project

How-to
By published

A step-by-step guide to nailing your typography every time.

Retype
(Image credit: Image Generated with Abobe Firefly)

Retype allows you to identify an outlined font in a static graphic and convert it into editable text. It searches Adobe Fonts as well as the font set on your own computer. While it doesn't always find the perfect match, it offers many similar fonts that might work just as well.

This is a brilliant way to try out different typography easily, but also to find exactly the right style you've been looking for. There's nothing worse than trawling through banks to find the perfect typeface only to realise that it isn't available to you – this cuts this process out and saves you time.

How to use Adobe Illustrator's Retype tool

01. Select outlined text and Retype

(Image: © Future)

Open a flat graphic in Illustrator. Select it and go to Type > Retype (Beta). This will analyse the text in the graphic and offer you a list of closest matching fonts.

02. Edit text

(Image: © Image Generated with Abobe Firefly)

If you're happy that a font in the list is identical or a close enough match, click on the font to download it or double click on the text to edit it. Once it's converted to live text, exit Retype to edit the text.

For more Adobe tips and tricks, see our list of Illustrator plugins and Adobe software list. Don't have Creative Cloud? Sign up below:

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Matt Smith
Matt Smith
Designer and Video Producer

Matt has worked for various publishing houses and design agencies, covering studio photography, video production, editorial design, branding, illustration and motion graphics. He currently works for Future PLC with brands such as T3, Woman&Home, Marie Claire, Music Week, TechRadar, Golden Joysticks, Cycling Weekly, Brand Impact Awards, Horse&Hound and Tech&Learning. In the past he has designed titles including Mac|Life, IQ, Bow International, Drummer, iDrum, Acoustic, Clay Shooting, Sea Fishing and GunTradeNews. He has experience across the full Adobe Suite and is currently spending a lot of time creating projects in Blender and After Effects.

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